This team has so many issues. First and foremost is team defense. We are a sieve and Rudy can only cover so much blatant crap. I think House could help us plug some of those holes, now he is having an MRI on his knee. I would say that our lack of size and athleticism in the backcourt and wing spots, and general inability to play perimeter D, is our #1 problem. It helps Whiteside and Rudy put up big numbers, does not help us win games. But since our opportunity to address this issue has passed for this year we are stuck with what we have. So, barring some defensive renaissance for the entire team, we are destined for an early playoff exit again.
Our #2 problem is our inability to continue playing with focus after we get a big lead. We give up way too many big leads and it is primarily due to lack of focus and effort. This leads to problem #3, and is tied to problem #1.
Then our #3 problem is our inability to close games. I am not even just saying clutch games, but in general. It is tied directly to #1 and #2, but it is a real problem that we abandon our vaunted offense right when we need it most to resort to hero ball and bad decision-making, mostly by DM. Conley needs the ball in his hands 80% of the time at the end of games. Look at how the Bucks handled the end of the game. Their legit MVP candidate hardly touched the ball. They trusted their primary play-maker, who feasted on our terrible back-court defense by the way, to lead them through their offense, with Giannis as a focal point, but not the ball-dominant scorer forcing **** against the teeth of the defense. He took his touches in the flow of the offense and through sheer hustle.
We could go on and on about this stuff, but these 3 things must be addressed in some way if we are to make any noise in the playoffs. Unfortunately problem #1 is the lynch-pin, hence its spot at the top of the list. By fixing #1 we would have had a strong impact on #2 and #3. But we lost our opportunity to do much there, so that makes doing anything with #2 or #3 that much harder.
And to me, a lot of this is on the FO and on Quin. The FO for not getting better pieces when they have had so many head-scratcher moves in recent years when better options were available, and Quin for not figuring out problem #2 and #3 to help us close out games.
